Tuesday, February 28, 2017

"Yellow Rose Of Texas" is the title of an old folk song, as well as a 1944 movie, and is used to remember Emily Morgan, a mixed race woman of color who was an indentured servant in New York and later became a free woman, famous for her role in the Texas Revolution and the war with Mexico.

This golden yellow rose is blooming this week in one of the dozen rose bushes I planted at my home in Apollo Beach, four years ago.

The timing of it blooming and the story that goes with it rings so true, especially today. It is a time of tensions with Mexico. And it bloomed the day after the Oscars (Academy Awards) ceremony, which was highlighted by great recognition of actors of color.

That included the first Oscar win by a Muslim actor in Hollywood, Mahershalalhashbaz "Mahershala" Ali, who is also black.

Despite the clerical error at the end of the show, the incredible way Hollywood moved away from last year's valid "Oscars So White" social media outrage is a salute to America's true spirit.

It is especially poignant in this day and age, when racism is perpetuated from the White House, unarmed black Americans can be shot by cops without anyone of them going to jail, criminals can shoot decent cops with impunity and run away to Mexico, and hate-filled gun-toting white guys shouting "Get out of my Country!" can shoot and kill innocent brown-skinned people legal immigrants in the heartland.

Let us 'Make America Great Again'....not by empty slogans that are coded ways of promoting bigotry and racism, but by staying true to real American values. Equality, fairness, justice, freedom and truth are what make America great, not demagogues and false prophets' cries of 'fake news', 'alternate facts', Muslim bans, self-dealing, tax evasion, misogyny and hiding their being agents of a foreign enemy like Russia.

God Bless America and save the world from the harm that is being done to society, to our countries, and to the world, by extremists of all kinds, including the ones wearing ties or turbans.